Welcome to the Outrageous Blog

Sailing alone…

2012 September 11

by Grenville

“After all there are those who think that all men are mad who go to sea when they could stay ashore, and that the maddest are those who, for pleasure, sail in boats of five tonnes and under, content with sitting headroom in the cabin and crawling headroom elsewhere. This is an arguable matter, with Dr Johnson on one side and all small boat sailors on the other.
“”No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.” – Johnson
But even the small boat sailors will agree that those of them who of choice sail single-handed are seldom ordinary men. They are of noticeably different texture, men of oak, not pliable. Their faith is is in themselves not in others. Their views are always their own. They do not search for precedents but make them. They are, in the best sense of the word, originals. There are no doubters among them. Whatever they do is best done the way they do it, and though all the world is of a different opinion, the World is wrong for they are right.”
Arthur Ransom